Friday, February 11, 2011

Welcome to Yos!

My first novel, The Calvanni, is an heroic fantasy adventure set on the world of Yos.

The book is no doubt heavily influenced by David Gemmell, my all time favourite writer.

To the left is a map of the continent of Kelas, where all the action in The Calvanni takes place.

On Yos all metal is magical. Weapons are crafted of exotic ceramics, the secrets handed down from master glassmith to apprentice for centuries. Razor sharp, but often brittle, the lanedd blades can be cast no longer than a long knife or calv. Calvanni means 'knife fighter'. On Yos there are no swords, and specialist pole arms called 'scythes' and spears are the weapons of choice in the field.

Control of magic is the ultimate basis for power. Since the fall of the Bulvuran Empire the Druids have monopolized power, outlawing the ancient practice of Sorcery, once the domain of the Bulvuran nobility.

Yos has twin suns that play havoc with the weather. Their regular eclipse causes Storm Season, when most of the wildlife - and the various sentient races - stay out of the cold and the vicious storms that follow. Any human unlucky enough to find themselves out in Storm Season has to contend with the Heat, a biological mechanism that can keep them alive - at a price.

The events in The Calvanni are set thirty years after the fall of the once vast Bulvuran Empire, when Kelas is divided into waring sardoms, and the ancient enemy of Man, the Eathal, plot their long-awaited revenge in the deep caverns of Maht.

My first foray into the world of Yos was a novella called Flight of the Phoenix, set at the fall of the Empire. Learning of the plot to destroy the Bulvuran Emperor and his family, the aging general Belin has to race through the night to save the life of the Empress Evylin and her newborn child. Always fearful of magic, Belin is confronted with powerful sorcery, facing an Eathal shapechanger in an epic battle that shakes the foundations of Yos itself.

The novella was published in 2003 in the Fantasy Readers Wanted - Apply Within anthology.I am very excited to announce that Flight of the Phoenix will be republished by Naked Reader in electronic format (May/June)!

I have a signed copy of the Fantasy Readers Wanted - Apply Within anthology to give away (which has a poem by Neil Gaiman in it. No really.) to the first person to email me at "chrismcmahonATspeechnet.com.au" with the answer to the following cryptic question:)

How many Temples of the Iris are there?

HINT: If you have not read The Calvanni, the answer is somewhere on my website.

Thanks, Sarah. This world has been with me for so long it's like a familiar set of comfy clothes. I spent years working on the background for the world - ecology, the orbits of the planets, the backstory, religions. Can't wait to bring some of that colour to life!

Hi, Kate. The resolution is not good enough to see it, but there is a monk trying to give a cheque to the Troll (the big green guy with the club) who is gesturing back to a sign with his thumb that says 'No Cheques Allowed':)

Hi, Chris. It was a lot of fun. It made the weapons really intersting. The calv or long knife is the longest blade they can manage. The niche of the swordsmen as elite dualists is really taken by the scythemen. The elite weapon is called a greatscythe, which has two blades - one at either end. Very tricky weapons!

Hi, Chris. Added to which they are razor sharp. As an added dimension, the greatscycthes also have a mechanism for releasing and retracting the blades while being used. They really are the elite weapon - used by a class of warriors similar to the samurai.

Most troops opt for the standard scythe, which is a polearm weapon with a single blade.

Map should be included in the NR edition. Perhaps it should also be sold separately for download that could then be printed?

After you have a few books in the world, it might also make a great promotional swag-thing for conventions here. Posters are relatively cheap to print, particularly the printing-paper size which are also best for distro in a freeby table. Um....

And heck, Chris, just your description of the world makes me want to bring out my drawing pad. This is a GOOD sign.